(Photo provided)

Justin Kuhnle has recently announced his candidacy for the Third District United States House of Representatives seat in 2014. Kuhnle was born and raised in Decatur, and currently resides in Kendallville.

As a child, Kuhnle attended Saint Joseph Catholic School through the eighth grade and then began his education at Bellmont High School. After high school, he attended and graduated from Purdue University in West Lafayette with a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and supervision in 2004.

Kuhnle went back to school in Fort Wayne in 2007, at both Ivy Tech and IPFW, majoring in psychology and human services, where he had the intention of helping people as an occupational therapist. It was through his psychology classes that he started in a career serving as a case manager with Park Center, with Bowen Center, and now with IPMG. 

This past year, Kuhnle married his wife, Beth, a third-grade teacher at Prairie Heights Elementary.

In 2012, Kuhnle ran in the Democratic Party primary for the Third District U.S. House. This was his first experience with politics. In 2008, while working in Fort Wayne with Park Center, he observed how political posturing cost hundreds of jobs and impacted individuals due to budget cuts that he assisted with that suffered with chronic mental illness. In 2012, he watched how our citizens were held as political leverage to obtain more tax cuts for businesses that continue to disproportionally receive.

Kuhnle has been an active member in the community, assisting citizens that suffer through mental illness and who are intellectually disabled for the past 7 years, 4 of these years were in connection with Fort Wayne Community Schools and East Noble School Corporation with behaviorally challenged children. This past year, Kuhnle also became a member of the Knights of Columbus. Kuhnle has also held several management positions in retail and with Kitty Hawk following graduation from Purdue.

“Strong Families. Strong Future. Believe.” That is the central focus of Kuhnle’s campaign which focuses on creating an atmosphere of job growth and investing in education. Kuhnle believes this can be accomplished by developing the skills of our workers to compete on a global scale.

He also believes in giving the resources to our elementary schools through reforming “No Child Left Behind” to focus on a full spectrum of learning and accountability. He believes in needing to develop our next generation of citizens and help to create jobs in healthcare, manufacturing and technology. Kuhnle is a believer on the need to work to create financial equality and independence while also getting our country’s finances under control through elimination of wasteful spending and tax reform. 

Kuhnle has laid out very specific promises that show his dedication to citizens of northeast Indiana. He knows what it means to be a civil servant and to put others first. One promise that Kuhnle stands with is to be a visible representative in our area with a truly open door policy. Kuhnle also promises to personally respond to any question, idea, concern or any other feedback anyone has to offer.